Secret room [30]

I took a deep breath and with all the courage I knocked the door. My heart was starting to beat rapidly. I have waited for this moment since days and weeks. I cannot backup now, not when I had already dived into the deep waters. I am prepared for this, I reminded myself and sighed. I can take anything that was waiting for me on the other side of the door. On the other side of the normal world. Yes, I was stronger and yes I was capable of it.

I waited for two minutes. But when there was no response, I knocked again. Still no response. I was sure he had entered this building. I have seen him entering with my own eyes. Why was he not opening? What if he was with someone? I placed my ear on the door in an attempt to hear what was happening inside. But there were no sounds. It was as if the place was empty and abandoned. I knocked again, furiously this time. The longer it was taking the grumpier I grew. Answers were waiting for me behind these walls. But why was it taking him so long?

Finally, I heard a sound as if something was being scraped along a wall. I was instantly alert. Then there was a creaking sound and then the soft footsteps. The door bolt rattled and the door opened.

His face was slightly visible as he stood inside the dark building, but I could tell he had an appalled expression planted on his face. Finding me here, standing at the door of this place, which seemed like a hideout, was a valid reason for being shocked. He took a step forward and looked behind me, first towards right where the mouth of the street was, then towards left where it finished. Then taking a step back again, he nodded his head in a 'come inside' motion and I took it as my cue to enter.

It was dark inside. Behind me Finn had slammed the door shut again. I could hear him locking the door. The little light coming from the broken window, allowed me to see a little. I figured out the pile of boxes scattered along the right wall of the room. A damaged clock, which I earlier thought was a painting, hung on the wall. The light from outside was enough to tell the ceiling was covered with thick cobwebs and damaged patches on the surface of the wall. I noticed Finn walking towards the wall that faced the entrance door. There was something planted on a wall. It looked like a picture frame. He pulled the frame from bottom and did something under it, I couldn't notice it properly as his back was blocking out my view. The wall in front of us moved with a creak and then it began to slide towards left. A bright stream of light hit my face and lit the dark room behind me. Finn was the first to enter the room while I stood on my track, taking in the unfamiliar place.

The room was big enough to be called a hall. A rectangular-top table, resembling a dining table, occupied the center of the room. Instead of food, candles were arranged in a specific pattern above the table. I noticed a bookshelf on the wall behind the table. It was entirely stuffed with books and numerous caskets.

"Come on in. " Finn said, tilting his head sideways. "Do not touch anything." He warned as I took a step inside. The wall behind me moved again with a scraping sound and slide towards right before finally closing.

The room looked spacious enough and excessively huge now when I was inside. There were no windows, except for the two ventilator windows on the top of the bookshelf, yet it was not one of those rooms that would give a claustrophobic feeling to someone. There was a bed beside the left wall, covered in white sheets and pillows and a blanket was placed neatly on it. A wooden bedside table rested beside the bed. On the right, there was an attached kitchen and a door, which I assumed was a bathroom.

"How did you find this place?" He folded his hands and raised an eyebrow and I sensed suspicion in his voice.

"I saw you walking by the street and followed you here!" I answered and noticed a scar slashing his right eyebrow and running towards his right temple.

"What were you doing around this neighborhood?" His eyes were holding a look of appraisal and I was a little intimidated.

"I was in the departmental store when I saw you." I replied meekly.

"Why did you follow me?"

"I wanted to know about everything." I answered.

He sighed and scrunched his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I told you I would find you myself. Do you even know the consequences of you coming here?"

"You said we will meet again. You never mentioned anything regarding you finding me. Besides. . . did you really tried to find me after that night?" I blurted without thinking. I had a feeling, he would straightaway send me home after giving me a lecture on how I should give things a second thought before acting. But I was not going back home. Not until I get an explanation.

"I would have found you if it was a right timing and this is not one. You must have not come here." He turned away from me and moved towards the kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of water.

"I am not leaving here until I get an explanation." I snapped.

Gulping the water down, he placed the glass on the counter beside the sink. "Stop being stubborn and go home now. You have a normal life right now, enjoy it." What did he meant by it? Was it an insinuation that my life was about to get wrecked? "Besides I will find you when the right time comes." He added.

"Will you? Do you even know how much I have gone through? I have received threats so many times and I don't even know who is behind all this. I was nearly dead that night, if you haven't saved me. I want to know what's going on? I want to know why is this all happening? And why is this happening to me." I felt a brim of tears in my eyes. I wasn't sure what I felt. Anger. Pain. Confusion. Fear. A myriad of emotions hit me, all at once.

"Trust me, it's better you don't get involved in this. You still have time to walk away from this." He looked away in other direction, ignoring the eye contact.

"Walk away from this. . . how do I walk away from this when I'm already involved. I'm not going anywhere. Tell me what's happening."

"Your mother never wanted you to have the same fate. So head back home now." He closed his eyes, as if recalling something from the past.

"How do you know my mother?" I asked instantly at the mention of my mom.

He sighed and unfolded his hands. "I was a friend of your mother. We were . . ." he trailed off the sentence. "You should head back home. Don't ever try to find me. This is not appropriate."

"My mother was involved in this too?" I asked, surprised at my own question. Involvement of my mom only meant one thing. Whatever that was happening was bigger and more complicated than I had expected.

* * * * *

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